Speed control for outboard motorboats



P 13, 1939- H. F. ANDERSON 2,155,112

SPEED CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTORBOATS Filed Dec. 27, 193'? 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IiEl.1.

INVENTOR IimvardFAnder-san.

- ATTORNEY April 18, 1939. H. F. ANDERSON SPEED CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTORBOATS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 27, 1937 INVENTOR Howard FAndersan.

fi r

ATTORNEY April 18, 1939. H. F. ANDERSON 2,155,112

SPEED CONTROL FOR OUTBOARD MOTORBOATS Filed Dec. 27', 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 I I I i I I I I I I I INVENTOR HawdniFAndersnn.

BY fli ATTO RN EY commercials-' 1s),

' actuated by means attached Fig, 3.

Patented Apr. 18, 1939 PA ENT OFFICE srnan CONTROL'FOB OUTBOARD MOTOR- nous Howard F. Anderson, Ion ingtomiCer ine application D c mb r-21, 1937. Serial No; 181,765

"This invention relates outboard motors; and

more particularly" to "an attachment for control" ling the "speed of a'm'otor boat without changmg the speed of the motor.

By means of the present "invention, the opera tor of the motor boat is enabledltocontr'ol the" same from full speed ahead to about one-half speed reverse, an advantage which is very *u'se ml; in approaching or leaving a wharf or moor- "ing; or when trolling"for' ilsh 'at-' 'anydesired' e dv One' ob'ject of this 'inv'entio'n is to provide a device of the abovenature which may be' readily 1[applied either to a new or any'existing standardtype of outboard motor.

Another object is to provide a speed control deviceof the abo'v'e nature whichm'ay be readily dleof the outboard motor. o I Y Still another obiectis'to provide a pair or op positely' curved water deilectin'g hingedplat'es embracing the propeller and :capable of being rocked toward and away from each other to vary the, speed of the boat by suitable gear mecha nism connected to'the steeringhandle by a 'ilexiblecablefr f I A still further object istopi'ovide a speed control device of 'the' above nature which'willbe relatively simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture; readily installed and manipulated, compactf ornamental in appearance, and very efli c'ient anddurable in use. i

With these'and other objects in view therehas been illhstratdin the accompanying -drawings 'severalfo'rms in'w veniently embodied in practice. Inthe drawings:

Fig. l is a' side v'icw'ot an outboard motor having the control inechanism embodying the tea '-"tures .61] this invention operativelyassociatedi therewith.

Fig. -2 is an enlarged vertical section taken through the steering handle and rockable con;-

trol grip.'

Fig. 3v is an enlarged side view. showing one of the'curved'. speed controlling plates and adjacent motor parts.

Fig. 4

Fi r5is a top of the gear box removedto more'clearly show the f gear inechanisln shown in position for .fullspeed ahead.

to the steering hanhlch' the invention may be con'- is a rear view of the parts in top plan time samej'fwith therein, the parts being plates in position for half speed modified form of gear-mechanism foractuating lo the speed controlling'plates.

FignlO is a top-plan view oithe same,- wlth the cover of the gearbox removed.

' Referring now-to the drawings wherein like referencecharacters designate like'parts throughout the"sever al'views,' the numeral '10 (Fig. 1) indicates anoutboard motor having the usual cylinder ll a gasoline-tank I2, etc., all of which parts are arranged together asa unit, which is pivotal-1y supported upon an upright propellersl'iaft-enc'losing tube by means of a sleevelike-member I4 secured to the motor l and restingupon a shoulder I provided on a boat engaging clamp 16. I

In order to rotatively support a propeller l8, a bearing box I1 is secured to the lower end of the tube l3, and said propeller I8 is connected bymeans of bevel gears and 2| to a vertical driving 'shaftlil, enclosed by the tube I 3. The usual steering handle 22 extends forwardly from the outboard motor III to permit the operator who generally sits at the stern of the boat to swing the propeller laterally from left to right to steer the boat. The usual skeg 23 is also provided, extending downwardly from the bearing box I], as well as the usual anti-cavitationplate 24 which extends rearwardly from the tube l3 above the propeller'lfl.

In order to deflect the water as it is thrown rearwardly' by'the propeller, provision is made 'ofa pair' or opposing plates 25 and 26 disposed one on either. side of the propeller l8, said plates being convex outwardly and adapted to control the speed of the boat," asdesired. The curved plates 25 and 26; when set in the position shown in Fig. 5, form a tunnel through which the water, forced rearwardlyby the propeller, passes without deflection to cause the boat to be propelled forwardly at full speed. As the plates 25 and lli aredswung-to brlngtheir respective rear edges 21 and 28 toward each other, the rearwardly directed bodyo1v water passing between the same is reduced in. volume and that deflected forwardly by the plates isincreased, whereby the speed of the boat will be progressively reduoed. f'lhis reduction 'in. speed".will contin 30 A small driving pinion gear between said extension until a balance is obtained between the force of the volume of water passing rearwardly between the edges 21 and 28 and the force of the water deflected forwardly by the plates 25 and 26, whereupon the boat will stop, this being the neutral" position (not shown). If the plates 25 and 26 are swung to the completely closed position, shown in Fig. 6, with the rear edges thereof in line to line contact, the force of the rearwardly moving water will be overbalanced by the force of the forwardly deflected water, causing the motion of the boat to be reversed, and the boat will run backwardly up to approximately one-half of its maximum forward speed.

The plates 25 and 26 are pivoted at their lower ends upon a common pivot pin 29, and are individually pivoted at their upper ends upon a pair of separate pivot pins 30 and 3| respectively. The lower common pivot pin 29 is supported by a bracket 32 secured to and extending rearwardly from the skeg 23, and the upper pivot pins 3|! and 3| pass through the bottom wall 33 of a gear box 34 secured to the anticavitation plate 24. The upper pivot pins 30 and 3| are also secured within the gear box 34 to gear sectors 35 and 36 respectively, which sectors are intermeshed,-whereby each plate will rotate the same amount and in unison with the other in opposite directions.

31 is rotatively mounted in the gear box 34 on a vertical axis with its teeth in mesh with the teeth of the gear sector 36, and said pinion gear 31 is rigidly mounted on thelower end of a flexible shaft 33 surrounded by a flexible metal tube 39 supported on the motor exhaust pipe 49 by clamps 39a. The shaft 33 extends upwardly and forwardly and passes through a lateral opening 46 in the handle 22 into a composition grip 4| tightly. fitted upon a tube 42 which is rockably mounted upon a tubular portion 43 of the steering handle 22. Theforward upper end of the flexible shaft 36 is secured upon the closed front end 44 of the tube 42,'as by a set screw 44a, whereby it will be rotated when the grip is twisted.

In order to maintain the tube 42 upon the tubular end portion 43 of the handle 22, provision is made of a resilient hooked member 45 secured to the steering handle 22 and detachably engaging the front end of a ring 46, which is rotatively mounted upon a rear extension 41 of the tube 42. The ring 46 has an internal eccentric camming edge 48 in engagement with the tube extension 41, and is operable to compress the same to vary the frictional contact 41 and the tubular portion 43 of the handle 22, thus preventing accidental turning of said' grip 4|, and the consequent twisting of the deflecting plates, due to the force of the water acting thereon when the motor is running.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the. plate 25 is secured to a short sleeve 50 pivotally mounted upon a short shaft 5| secured to the plate 26. The shaft 5] extends upwardly through the sleeve 50 into a gear box 34a, and the upper end of said shaft 5| is secured to an externally toothed gear sector 52, The sleeve 50 also extends into the gear box 34a and is secured to an internally toothed gear segment 53 concentric with. the sector 52.

The respective teeth 54 and 55 of the gear members 52 and 53 are in opposed spaced apart relation and intermesh with the teeth of'the pinion 31 disposed between them. In the operation of this form of the invention, when the 'grip 4| is manually twisted, the rotation of the pinion gear 31 will swing the gear sector 52 and the segment 53 in opposite directions, causing the plates 25 and 26 to swing upon their axes for controlling the speed and direction of movement of the boat to which the outboard motor I0 is attached.

In the form'ofthe invention shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the deflecting plates 25 and 26 are respectively secured upon the lower ends of an elongated sleeve 60 and an elongated shaft 6| surrounded by said sleeve. 4 The sleeve 66 and the shaft 6| extend upwardly into an elevated gear box 62, and are secured, respectively, to bevel gearsectors 63 and 64 disposed therein. The gear sectors 63- and 64 are disposed one above the other with their respective teeth 65 and 66 in opposed spaced-apart relation. A bevel gear pinion 61, secured to the end of the flexible shaft 38 is disposed between the opposed teeth 65 and 66 of the gear sectors 63 and 64 with its teeth 63in mesh'therewith. In the operation of this form of the invention, manual rotation of the grip 4| will cause swinging of the plates 25 and 26 through the action of the sleeve 50 and shaft 6|, respectively. One advantage of this construction is that the gear box 62 is located above the water level, and will cause no drag or retarding action upon the motion of the boat. In order to support and steady the sleeve 66, a bracket 63 may be employed, which is secured to the anti-cavitation plate 24.

Operation In the operation of all three forms of the invention herein disclosed, before starting the motor when the boat is at a wharf, the plates 25 and 26 will preferably be set at a neutral position, previously ascertained, and determined by indicia (not shown) on a marked handle tube extension 41 and the adjacent tubular end portion 43. After the outboard motor III has been started, by properly twisting the handle grip 4|, the plates 25 and 26 may be either' closed or opened to cause the boat to travel either rearwardly or forwardly, and at any desired speed. The use of the present invention in no way interferes with the steering action of the handle 22, and the speed of the boat may be readily controlled from the steering handle over a wide range without changing the motor speed.

It will be understood that the present attachment may be operated to control the speed of the boat at any time, either when the boat is already in motion or when starting up.

While there have been disclosed in this specification several forms in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these forms are shown for the purposes of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures but may be modified and embodied in. various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the

invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new. and for which it is .desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a speed control mechanism for a motorboat having an outboard motor provided with a propeller and an anticavitation plate, a pair of opposed curved plates mounted to swing on substantially vertical axes one on either side of said propeller, said plates having sears secured thereto, a gear-housing box secured to said anti-cavitation plate, a pinion drivingly connected with said gears, a flexible shaft drivingly connected with said pinion, and a' manually twistable member mounted on the steering handle of said outboard motor tor rotating said shaft.

2. In a speed control mechanism for a motor boat having an outboard motor and a tiller, a propeller, a pair plates'mounted to propeller,.intermeshing gears secured to said plates, twistable manual control means coaxially mounted on' said tiller, and a flexible cable connecting one of said gears with said control means to swing said plates and control the flow or water driven by said propeller ior varying the speed of said motor boat.

3. In mechanism for controlling the speed of a motor boat having an outboard motor provided with a driven propeller anda tiller handle for swinging said motor and propeller to steer the boat, a pair 01' opposed plates swingably mounted one on either side of said propeller, rotary control nieans twistably mounted on said handle and on .the same axis therewith, and means responsive to the twisting of said control means to swing said plates about the propeller to control the flow of the water driven by said propeller and thereby the speed of said boat.

4. In mechanism for controlling the speed 01' a motor boat having an outboard motor secured thereto and provided with a driven propeller and a tiller for swinging said motor and propeller to steer the boat, a pair of opposing deflector. plates adapted to be swingably mounted one on of opposed curved deflector swing on eitherside oi the.

- said plates to cause a whistle sleeve a rotatable flexeither side of said propeller, adapted to surround said tille ible shai't connected at one end to said sleeve and at its other end drivingly connected with said plates to cause them to swing when said sleeve is twisted and thereby control the speed of said motor boat.

5. In mechanism i'o'r controlling the speed of a motor boat having an outboard motor provided with a driven propeller and a handle tiller for swinging said motor and propeller to steer the boat, a pair of opposing swingable plates mounted at the sides and rear of said propeller, a rotatable flexible cable drivingly connected to them to swing in opposite directions, a twistable grip coaxially mounted on said handlevtiller, to said flexible cable to rotate it when twisted, whereby the speed of said boat may be controlled.

6. In mechanism for controlling the speed of a motor boat having an outboard motor and a propeller mounted thereon, a tiller handle for swinging said motor and propeller about a substantially vertical axis to steer the boat, a pair of opposed plates swingably mounted on substantially vertical axes one on either side of the propeller and adapted when swung to enclose the rear of said propeller, a flexible shatt drivingly connected to said plates in such a manner as to cause them to swing in opposite directions,

said grip being connected 1 a tubular grip coaxially mounted on said handle adapted to twist on a substantially horizontal axis, said grip being connected to said shaft to rotate it when twisted, whereby the speed ,0! said boat may be controlled.

HOWARD I". ANDERSON. 

